Off the wire
• Crusading against women's cancer in rural China  • China regulates web directories to contain illegal websites  • Burkina Faso's electoral body offices ransacked ahead of polls  • Global smartphone sales growth in Q1 driven by China: GfK  • Urgent: NATO, Montenegro sign accession protocol  • Michelin Guide Shanghai 2017 to be launched later this year  • 2nd LD: Egypt's plane "missing" until wreckage found: minister  • China praises Mozambique, Burundi, Slovenia for support on South China Sea  • News Analysis: Rocketing home prices likely to lead to curbs  • Top news items of major Kenyan media outlets  
You are here: 　 Home

UN chief urges Kenyan leader not to close refugee camp

Xinhua, May 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has urged Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta not to close Dadaab refugee camp that mainly hosts Somali refugees, expressing appreciation for the country's decades of generosity to asylum seekers.

A statement issued by his spokesman received in Nairobi on Thursday said Ban expressed the UN's support to Kenya, including the proposal that a high-level bilateral review on the refugee situation in Kenya be conducted by the government and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"The Secretary-General assured President Kenyatta that he appreciated the enormous task and responsibility involved in hosting large numbers of refugees, amidst daunting security challenges," the statement said after Ban had telephoned President Kenyatta.

The move comes after Kenya had announced that it plans to close Dadaab refugee camp in northeast region due to "very heavy" economic, security and environmental issues.

The East African nation has also cited the influence of terror group Al-Shabaab as among the risks of keeping the camps open.

It was not yet clear when the closure will begin, but the government has already disbanded the Department of Refugee Affairs, which worked with humanitarian organizations for the welfare of the refugees.

The closure means Somali asylum seekers, who have been fleeing conflict and severe drought in the Horn of Africa nation, would be forced to return to the situation they fled.

In his telephone conversation, Ban expressed deep appreciation to President Kenyatta and the people of Kenya for decades of generous hospitality to significant populations of asylum-seekers and refugees.

He urged Kenyatta to continue to use the 2013 Tripartite Agreement, signed with Somalia and the UNHCR as a basis for the voluntary return of Somali refugees in safety and dignity.

Ban mentioned that the Deputy Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Refugees would visit Kenya at the end of May.

"They look forward to discussing this issue forward with the Government of Kenya, and will underline the readiness of the UN to garner the support of the international community in addressing Kenya's refugee challenges, with consideration for the host communities in Kenya as well as the sub-regional security concerns," it said. Enditem